Measurement of Peroxide Contents in Radiooxidized Dietary Fats by Chemiluminescence Technique

Chemiluminescence (CL) method was employed for estimation of peroxide contents in red palm oil (RPO), sunflower oil (SFO) and vegetable ghee (VG), generated by radiolytic stresses. To evaluate the suitability of this method, a set of samples were irradiated 5-120 krad with gamma rays using Co-60 source. The untreated samples were considered as control. Radiolytic oxidative stresses significantly (p 0.05) increased the formation of peroxides. A linear response of CL intensity was observed with the increase in radiation doses. A positive correlation was observed between chemiluminescence intensity and peroxide value. The RPO was found to be more stable than other oils owing to the presence of tocopherol contents and β - carotene.Chemiluminescence technique is sensitive, convenient, fast, and may be used as a supplement to the standard chemical methods for quality assessment.